Government moves to protect scientists

The government today announced a crackdown on animal rights extremists who target scientists involved in vivisection as part of its plans to extend police powers to fight serious crime.

The move, contained in a bill in the Queen's speech, was welcomed by universities, which have been the target of aggressive campaigning, but condemned by peaceful activists, who said their right to protest would be curtailed.

The new Serious Organised Crime Agency, announced by the Queen, will have particular powers to target animal rights extremists and prevent the harassment of scientists. More money will be allocated and police given greater power to tackle violent protests.

The Queen said: "Legislation will be introduced to establish the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and the powers the police and others have to fight crime will be strengthened. In particular, the bill will introduce new measures to deal with harassment by animal rights extremists."

The move prompted an angry response from some peaceful animal rights activists, who believe they will be targeted under the new powers. "There's a worry that the government is using the violent fringe as a pretext to curtail peaceful forms of protest. In terms of some of the injunctions that have come out saying that groups cannot even criticise a scientist, it's a worry. We're concerned about that.

"The debate should be about the rights and wrongs of vivisection and not about illegal and aggressive campaigning tactics."

However, Oxford and Cambridge universities, which have recently been the target of campaigns, welcomed the move.

A spokesman for Oxford, which has been locked in a series of injunctions and counter-court actions to prevent scientists at a new £18m neuroscience centre being targeted, said: "Oxford University supports the right to lawful protest. However, we have recently been obliged to spend a significant amount of time in the courts to obtain an injunction to protect people associated with us and our new biomedical research facility from harassment, intimidation and violence.

"In principle, therefore, we would applaud any reasonable legislation that supports the police in their work to clamp down on such militant activity by a small minority of protesters without impeding peaceful protest."

A spokesman for Cambridge, which was forced to cancel a planned new research building after costs spiralled partly as a consequence of animal rights campaigns, said: "We as an institution uphold everyone's right to protest lawfully, but in the case of animal rights extremists we believe that this is a positive step in combating the intimidatory tactics used by them."

In September, the creation of a national body designed to reduce the number of animals that die in scientific experiments was announced with £500,000 worth of grants to "replace, refine and reduce" vivisection. Animal rights activists dismissed the venture as a "symbolic gesture".